Change of Audit Regulations in the UK and the Republic of Ireland Research Paper

Change of Audit Regulations in the UK and the Republic of Ireland - Research Paper Example The primary objectives of APB are to establish high standards of financial auditing, assess & meet the continuously developing need of end users of the financial information and to achieve confidence of the public in the auditing process of the nation. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is established primarily to support the confidence of investors, the market and the general public in the financial & corporate governance of listed companies & such other entities. FRC is accountable to monitor, enforce & govern compliance to the auditing standards developed and published by APB. APB supports FRC by setting high-quality standards & guidelines to achieve high performance of external audits by external auditors by virtue of their independence, objectivity and integrity. APB is also accountable to enhance the public understanding of  the roles & responsibilities of external auditors. APB is also accountable for recommending essential changes in the audit regulations which are later communicated via their free newsletters published through their website. Looking back in the History, UK Auditing Standards were originally developed by the Accounting Practices Committee (APC) that were established in 1976 and were in operation till 1991. In 1991, the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) established the Auditing Practices Board (APB) that took over the accountability to develop & publish the Auditing Standards of UK and Republic of Ireland. APB was taken over by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in 2004 such that it became a subsidiary board of the FRC. Since December 2004, after FRC has taken over APB, the audit standards in the UK & Republic of Ireland are being adopted from the consultation by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). The Standards thus published are the International Standards modified to be applied in UK & Ireland and hence are named as ISA (UK & Ireland).